This government must keep its promise to pregnant women

You are here: Home / News / Press / This government must keep its promise to pregnant women

10 Dec 2012

Diane Abbott, Labour’s Shadow Public Health Minister, urges the government to meet midwives promise as maternity figures show that 25% of mothers in England had a caesarean:

‘These figures show a greater demand for maternity services, so the strain the government has put on the NHS, and the government’s self-inflicted midwife shortage crisis means that the alarm bells should be ringing. This government has got to start taking responsibility for this crisis because David Cameron
promised an extra 3000 midwives, which everyone was counting on, and he’s

‘It is nothing short of a disgrace that clinical posts such as nurses are being axed, and the NHS budget being cut in real terms.’

NHS hospital deliveries to mothers aged 13 to 19 have fallen by just over a fifth in five years, figures also show today.

Diane Abbott MP warned that the progress made by the last Labour government was being risked by this government. She said:

‘These figures illustrate the success of Labour’s strategy of working to improve sex education and access to contraception. We all want to see fewer teenage pregnancies, but you’ll do it by improving sex education and access to contraception.

‘The danger is that this government’s NHS policies will cause a fragmentation of sexual health services and the progress that has been made will start to go backwards.’